Around 8 in 1,000 babies are born with something wrong with their heart. This can sometimes be called a cardiac abnormality, congenital heart disease or congenital heart defect.

Most of these babies survive and grow to adulthood, and may go on to have children themselves.

If you were born with a cardiac abnormality and have had a successful operation to correct it, this does not mean you're completely cured. You'll probably have some scarring of the heart, and this may make you more prone to infections or an irregular heartbeat.

Many women with congenital heart disease have a successful pregnancy, but pregnancy puts your heart under significant strain. This can lead to problems, so talk to your doctor before you get pregnant or as soon as you know you're pregnant.

See a heart specialist (cardiologist)

If you were born with a heart problem and you're planning to have a baby, talk to your cardiologist before you get pregnant.

Some women who were treated for congenital heart disease as babies or children may not have seen a heart specialist for many years and may not realise that regular checks are important.

If you do not have a cardiologist, ask a GP to refer you to one.

Your doctor can talk with you about:

any medicine you're taking and whether this may need adjusting in pregnancy

how your heart condition might affect your pregnancy

how pregnancy might affect your heart condition

Do not stop taking your medicine until you've talked with your doctor.

Your care in pregnancy

You'll be referred to a hospital maternity unit for team-based care (the team will include a cardiologist, obstetrician and midwife).

You may be able to attend a special cardiac pregnancy clinic if there's one in your area. Ask your GP for details or contact The Somerville Foundation – a charity for grown-up congenital heart disease patients.

A congenital heart disease cardiologist will assess you and plan your care with you. It's hard to predict the effect of congenital heart disease on a pregnancy because each case is different, but the chance of serious complications for a woman with congenital heart disease falls into 3 ranges:

low chance – a risk of less than 1 in 100 (this is the most common level of risk)

medium chance – a risk of 1 in 100 to 1 in 10

high chance – a risk of more than 1 in 10

The only way to estimate your risk and to determine what complications, if any, you might have during pregnancy is to have a careful assessment by a specialist.

Your baby

Your congenital heart disease can affect your baby. Babies may be smaller if the mother's heart does not pump as efficiently as it should and delivers less oxygen and nutrients to the placenta and developing baby.

Babies may be born prematurely. You'll be offered regular scans from around 26 weeks of pregnancy, to ensure that your baby is growing normally and that they remain healthy.

Depending on the type of congenital heart disease you have, there's a chance that your baby could inherit the condition. For example, Marfan syndrome affects 1 in 2 children born to a mother with the condition.

You need to know as much as you can about your condition, so your baby can get special care if necessary when they are born.

Many, but not all, conditions in your unborn baby can be detected during pregnancy. The future management of your pregnancy and care of your baby will be discussed with you, and a specialist children's heart doctor (cardiac paediatrician) will advise you on the options available once your baby is born.

Treatment and self-management

The treatment you receive will depend on what condition you have. Your cardiologist will provide you with a tailored antenatal care plan.

This may mean that you have to change the medicines you take. For example, ACE inhibitors are not recommended during pregnancy. Your specialist will discuss this with you.

Do not stop taking your medicine without talking to your specialist first.

During your pregnancy, follow any advice your specialist gives you about managing your condition. Low-impact exercise, such as swimming and walking, is usually a good idea to keep you fit, but always speak to your midwife or doctor before starting any new exercise programme.

Labour and birth

Discuss your options for where you can give birth with your healthcare team. This should include a cardiologist with experience in supporting pregnant women with heart disease.

You may be advised to give birth in hospital.

Depending on the type and severity of heart disease, induction may not be recommended because the prostaglandin medicines that bring on labour may overstimulate your uterus, and the medicines used to reverse this cannot be given to mothers with congenital heart disease.

It's best to wait for spontaneous labour (labour that starts naturally), unless the baby has to be delivered early because you're unwell or the baby is not growing normally.

There's no need for mothers with congenital heart disease to be automatically offered a caesarean section.

However, it may be recommended that you have a pain-free labour, which means that you should have an epidural, and your doctor may use forceps or a ventouse to assist you during the delivery, as this avoids the strain of having to push the baby out.